During the pandemic-induced lockdowns, streaming platforms doled out crime thrillers one after the other. Director Rajshree Ojha’s Potluck (2021), a light-hearted show about the Shastri family that sticks together despite their personal highs and lows, came as a breath of fresh air. Almost one-and-a-half years on, the director is back with the second instalment of the Sony LIV comedy series. In a chat with mid-day, Ojha talks about how the narrative of a tight-knit family lends itself wonderfully to multiple seasons, and how she has the third season ready in her head.

Edited excerpts from the interview.

It has been a positive response. The results are so good that we will start the third season soon. I feel Potluck has found its niche audience.

The showrunners were sure that Potluck would have at least 10 seasons. To be honest, I wasn’t so sure. I like the show’s vibe, so I was sure that it should have at least three seasons. It is in the space of a sitcom, so it can continue to tell the story, like say Gilmore Girls. All we needed was the audience. My biggest fear for the second season was that it was released over a year [after the first instalment]. [I feared that] people forget [a show], especially with so much content out there.

Personally, I like to find humour in the most horrendous situations; it takes away the pressure. I always try to bring in [an element of] craziness. In this season, Dhruv [Harman Singha’s character] loses his job, and I’ve made such a drama about it. We, as Indians, [have a penchant] for melodrama.

There is a scene between the three guys [Singha, Cyrus Sahukar, and Siddhant Karnick] in which they are trying to console Dhruv, who has lost his job, but Cyrus kept cracking up. Everyone was tired laughing at one point. There is a birthday/anniversary scene, which turns hilarious. Also, a scene in the end credits — with Cyrus and Ira [Dubey] in the bathtub — will leave you in splits.

I think Harman was fantastic; he is a director’s actor. Sometimes, when I pushed him, he would get why I am doing so. There was a scene where he was having an internal struggle, which he did beautifully. Ira is my other favourite. [Her character] is shown joining a new office, plus she is trying to fit in. She captured that essence well.

Of course. We are set to have a wedding, which is in my head [at the moment]. But I don’t know what the showrunners are thinking. I think people would be keen to see who Aalim’s [Karnick] parents were, and whether he and Prerna [Shikha Talsania’s character] unite.

Satiated with her fill of intense content in digital entertainment, director Rajshree Ojha took up Sony LIV’s Potluck to showcase a light-hearted family drama. While shooting during the pandemic brought its challenges, the director counts it as a blessing. “We had limited crew and everyone doubled up to do extra work. The bio-bubble helped the cast bond and get comfortable with each other because they had no choice, and that [camaraderie] translated on screen,” she says.

Since its release in September, Potluck has been widely appreciated. But Ojha has no time to bask in the adulation — she has already moved on to her next. The director, whose Aisha (2010) was based on Jane Austen’s Emma, has gone back to the author’s work. “Jane Austen has always been my favourite author. She is the quintessential rom-com queen in my head, and I love that space. I would love to adapt all her books into movies.”

Her next will be based on Sense And Sensibility (1811), albeit with a twist. “My script is ready. I am now in talks with production houses and talent for the project. [While the core story remains the same], I will be telling it from a millennial girl’s perspective. The world and women’s mindset may have changed, but we’ll never stop wanting romance,” says Ojha.

Ang Lee’s adaptation of Sense And Sensibility (1995) won writer-actor Emma Thompson an Academy Award. Ask her if she is ready for the brickbats, and Ojha says that it comes with the territory. “Criticism doesn’t deter me from doing what I want to do. I love Ang Lee as a filmmaker and storyteller. I can’t even compare. Furthermore, I am just trying to make a fun film,” she says.

Having been in the entertainment industry for three decades, Kitu Gidwani is sure of what doesn’t appeal to her as an actor. “Saas-bahu dramas are just not for me,” she declares, at the onset of our conversation. Her actions too match her words. After making her OTT debut with Fittrat (2019), followed by Ghost Stories (2020), she is now seen in Potluck — a charming family comedy.

“It is difficult to find good and subtle comedy these days. The writing of Potluck made it fun,” says the actor, who plays the matriarch in the Sony LIV offering. While her co-stars found their characters right in their wheelhouse, for Gidwani it was not the case. “I am usually quite childish and silly on set. I had to rein myself in and be consciously reserved. The freedom to own the character and do small improvisations was only possible because of the competent cast.”

Gidwani says that post 2000, the television offers that came her way didn’t match her creative sensibilities. “[In 2005], I did Ravi Rai’s Kasshish, which was about an adulterous relationship. The writing was fabulous. It was one of the most nuanced serials on Indian television [that spoke about] what happens in a [love] triangle. Only Ravi Rai could have written it like that. We did about 60 episodes, and I felt it could have gone up to 100 at least.”

Happy to front shows that she believed in, the actor says she had little inclination to join the rat race that the telly world became in the mid-2000s. “I know that it is possible to shoot for 12 hours, but the whole insanity that trickled in where we were being treated like mules or bullock carts [was not for me]. I feel many actors were trampled on. Television seems to have gone into some black hole, which it may never come out of. Every channel need not make a saas-bahu drama.”

The actor says that OTT has given people the freedom to be creative and talk about issues that matter. “OTT platforms have opened the world globally. The topics are much more vast. The good and bad in the society can be shown through satire, which is an amazing genre.”

At a time when streaming platforms continue to dole out investigative thrillers, Shikha Talsania’s Potluck comes as a refreshing change of pace. The Sony LIV offering revolves around the members of a middle-class family who have little time for each other until they are brought together by the patriarch’s ill-health. For Talsania, the story — “full of heart and soul” — was an instant draw. “What resonated with me was Prerna’s [her character] different equation with each of her family members as she tries to figure out her individuality,” she says.

The actor, who featured in Veere Di Wedding (2018), is currently shooting for another buddy film, Jahaan Chaar Yaar. “Friendship is at the core of Jahaan Chaar Yaar, but that is where the similarity [with Veere Di Wedding] ends. Jahaan Chaar… is about four married women from small towns in north India who find themselves in a unique situation that makes them discover their true potential.”

Having burst on the scene with Wake Up Sid (2009), Talsania, over the years, has spoken about the industry’s tendency to typecast actors. She is glad that of late, things are changing for the better. “We are riding the wave of change now. Our collective consciousness has changed — as creators and as an audience. That I’ve been part of three projects this year, which have not typecast me, is a testament to the fact. We are looking for nuances and truth in each story.”